Fire at Creswick

Alice Young (1859-1935) was the third of the 13 children of George and Caroline Young. Alice was born at White Hills in the district of Maryborough, Victoria. (White Hills is now known as Havelock, 10 kilometres north of Maryborough. In the 1850s and 60s it was a mining centre and at one time had a population of 6,000.)

In Avoca in 1880 Alice married a miner named John Carl Henry Reher (1837–1891), and between 1881 and 1886 they had four children, all born in Talbot

In 1884 Reher was injured in a mining accident; a winch failed and he fell down a shaft. The accident left him an invalid. He died in 1891, seven years later.

In 1893 in Talbot Alice re-married, to her brother-in-law Thomas Fish (1872–1941), younger brother of Alfred, husband of her sister Rachel.

The photograph is of Alice’s second house. The first burnt down in 1910.

I think the house is at Raglan Street, Creswick and it seems to be still standing.

In 1910 there was a fire at the house of Thomas Fish in Raglan Street, Creswick. The fire, possibly caused by hot coals falling out of a fireplace, destroyed the house and everything in it, including a new piano. Alice and her children escaped through a window, just in time. Mr Fish was away from home. A fireman was injured when a chimney collapsed.